23 Dec 2015

Christmas Baking – Making Italian Torrone

by | posted in: Italian Cooking, Italian Food and Wine | 35

Torrone Candy at Christmas Photo by Margie Miklas

I am not a food blogger but I love to bake. My mother baked almost every day for our family, and she taught me how to bake when I was 10. She was a good teacher and I have enjoyed it ever since. Thank you Mom!

 

I love the Christmas season and especially enjoy baking Christmas cookies. This year I made my usual biscotti, pizzelles, sugar cutout cookies, Italian snowball cookies, and a few others.

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Thanks to a recipe shared from another Italy lover I met on social media, I also made Italian anise cookies. Thank you Tony Staffaroni.

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I also tried making fudge for the first time and it turned out great. My granddaughters were very helpful helping in the kitchen and they love decorating the sugar cookies.

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Baking together is something we do throughout the year and hey have become quite good at it too.

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This year I decided to try to make the traditional Italian candy known as torrone. Available in Italian shops year round, torrone is a traditional Christmas favorite.
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This sweet treat is a traditional Italian nougat candy made with honey, sugar, egg whites and toasted almonds. Making it was time-consuming, but not that difficult. It turned out fantastic…I was surprised at the color but it tasted good and the consistency was right.

After letting the torrone sit overnight the color lightened and the flavor was even better!

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The recipe I followed can be found here:

https://www.thespruce.com/homemade-torrone-521119

Italian-Torrone Photo by Margie Miklas

I have become more adventurous when it comes to baking since I have taken several cooking classes in Italy over the past few years, and more recently one in NYC. It’s fun and with all the videos and cooking shows available making something for the first time is not so intimidating. I encourage anyone who is thinking about it to give it a try.

Update: December 2018.

I decided to try this again this year, and I used the light corn syrup, rather than the dark. The torrone turned out much lighter in color, more like what I am used to seeing.  They are also a bit stickier but taste delicious.

Torrone Candy at Christmas Photo by Margie Miklas

 

Do you like to bake? What do you bake for the holidays? I‘d love to know so please leave a comment.

Buon Natale!
Grazie and ciao.

 

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35 Responses

    • margieinitaly
      | Reply

      How wonderful, Lorelle. I bake biscotti often. In fact, a new Italian restaurant that opened here has a chef from Sicily and he is selling my homemade biscotti in his restaurant. Thanks for sharing. Buon Natale!

  2. karenincalabria
    | Reply

    Wow! Very impressed with your baking skills – I’d say congratulations, but you already have all the reward anyone could possibly want in the eating of all those delicacies with your beautiful family. (Love your Christmas hats!)

  4. DreamDiscoverItalia.com
    | Reply

    Yum yum yum!!! Christmas sweets and biscuits don’t last long in our house and torrone is my favourite so I might just have to have a go at this recipe Margie!! I hope it all tasted as good as it looks!! :o)

  6. Un po' di pepe
    | Reply

    You and your nipotine look like you are having a great time. Our Pugliese Christmas dolci include crustoli, pettole, cartellate and my favourite, cauzuncill’ (calzoncini). I also make espresso shortbread cookies, but those are not exclusive to Christmas. Buon Natale, Cristina

  7. H.W. MacNaughton
    | Reply

    Anise cookies (a legacy of my mother’s Italian grandparents) and Christmas cookies are staples at our house as well. Always great fun decorating 🙂

  8. Anonymous
    | Reply

    Merry Christmas to you and yours. Cookie baking looks like fun. How I miss torrones,can’t get them in Tennessee. Andrea Cook

  9. dollygoolsby
    | Reply

    I, too, love to bake. I have made cookies with Grandkids and Great-grandkids this year in Washington State as well as here in California. Your cookies are beautiful. As are your granddaughters. Maybe i will try torrone next year. Buon natale.

  10. Suzette | TrySomethingFun.com
    | Reply

    You are certainly brave for jumping into the recipe for torrone! Looks like you ladies had a lot of fun. While I’m no wiz in the kitchen, we’ve turned birthdays into a time to make things we’re learned on our travels; food, art, you name it. We recently tried making Houska holiday bread with almonds and it turned out surprisingly good. Happy holidays!

    • margieinitaly
      | Reply

      Wow Suzette-That sounds like a wonderful tradition and delicious too! Thank you for sharing !! Best to you and your family in 2016!

  12. Tony
    | Reply

    Great post, you have inspired me to give torrone a try next year, or maybe even some time this winter! I am famous too, thank you for the shout out! 🙂 I have started baking more since my trip to Italy in 2014. My next trip I’d like to try some classes and maybe brach out beyond just the cookies and desserts.

    • margieinitaly
      | Reply

      That sounds wonderful Tony! I encourage you to try the torrone next year! I am still receiving compliments for your anise cookie recipe!! Grazie mille!

  13. imarancher
    | Reply

    You look 30 years old. Running about Italy has done you the world of good. In re the cookies and goodies, have had all but the torrone and all was terrific. Next year perhaps I will be able to pass judgement on the torrone (shameless hustle!).

    PS Love the grandkids, they look so happy. Someday they will tell their children and friends about learning to cook with Gramma Margie.

  16. bonniegm
    | Reply

    Seriously impressed with you making torrone!!!! We brought back a literal suitcase full of candy from this last trip in December!! Could not believe all the choices in the supermarkets, never mind the Christmas street markets!!! I make pignoli cookies and an Italian lemon twist that are wonderful with coffee in the morning. I typically make about 10 different kinds and give cookie plates out to neighbors and businesses that we frequent during the year.

    • margieinitaly
      | Reply

      Thanks a lot Bonnie! and I am impressed that you make pignoli cookies. The first time I tried it was a disaster! I also like to bake at Christmas and distribute plates of cookies to friends and neighbors!! Such a nice tradition

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